The Greene Monster?

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune and the News Tribune, the Padres and Red Sox have discussed swapping short stop Khalil Greene for outfielder Coco Crisp.

If you read this blog, you know I'm a big Coco fan, but that's not why I think this is a bad idea...
Tony Mazz broke down the short stop situation in Boston earlier this week. Here's the key:

Think of it this way: In 2008, the Sox were still paying $3.67 million of Renteria's salary with the Detroit Tigers. That is on top of the $9 million they paid Lugo, who was the worst defensive shortstop in baseball (at least based on errors) during the first half of the season. Should the Red Sox find a taker for Lugo this offseason, they will find themselves in a familiar predicament: paying a shortstop to play for someone else. Lugo has two years and $18 million remaining on his contract, and in all likelihood, the Sox would have to eat at least half of his salary in any deal, which means they'd be paying him in the vicinity of $4.5 million this season to ply his trade elsewhere. All of that has made shortstop nothing short of a money pit, which is something the Red Sox can afford only because they have a license to print cash.

Lugo's appeal to a potential trade partner would be based on the fact that his contract is short and relatively inexpensive (again, with the Sox picking up a large chunk of his salary), particularly in comparison to the more expensive shortstops currently available. This winter, in the event you are wondering, Renteria, Cabrera and Rafael Furcal, among others, are free agents at a position that has riddled the Sox in recent years.

I the Sox were to trade for Greene, they would (in theory) be free to include Jed Lowrie in a another trade... but they would still be stuck trying to move Lugo and pay a good chunk of his salary - he's not going to be the new Alex Cora.

As Tony mentions, paying Lugo to play elsewhere would simply be par for the course for Boston, but is Greene really that much of an upgrade?

Greene had a very productive year in 2007, hitting 27 ding dongs and driving in 97 runs, but he hit .254 and K'd 128 times in 611 at-bats (21%). Injuries held him to 105 games, 10 homers and 35 RBI in 2008.

2009 will be Greene's 6th season as a starter and his averages for the past 5 years suggest that 2007 was an aberration, not necessarily a sign of what could be:

.247 BA, 58.6 R, 29.2 2B, 16.4 HR, 64.4 RBI

Lowrie his .258 in 260 at-bats this year, while fighting through a wrist injury. He had 25 doubles, 2 homers and 46 RBI... simply multiplying those numbers 1.75 to get 455 at-bats gives him roughly 44 doubles, 4 homers and 80 RBI.

Bottom Line: Jed Lowrie may not hit 15-20 homers in a season, but he will hit better than .250 (.287 in 4 MiLB seasons) and proved he can slap just as many doubles and drive in just as many runs as Greene likely would. And defensively, Greene's career fielding percentage is .976 - Lowrie's 2008 percentage was .989.

Also, Coco Crisp's value is at it's peak right now, if we're going to trade him, lets get some catching or pitching depth, not another mediocre short stop.

Now... let's get back to the real issue here - who is going to take Julio Lugo off our hands

ps. There is this to consider...










UPDATE: The Herlad's Sean McAdam says this rumor has been squashed:

No on Coco

A published report that the Sox were interested in dealing Coco Crisp [stats] to San Diego for shortstop Khalil Greene was summarily dismissed by Red Sox officials, who noted the club already has two shortstops - Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo [stats] - on its roster.

The Sox are trying to find a taker for Lugo and his remaining $18 million. Lugo missed the second half of the season with a quad injury but now is healthy, and Epstein said the shortstop might play winter ball in his native Dominican Republic.